Directional signal for automobiles



Aug.11,1936. R E STONE 050,769v

' DIRECTIONAL SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed May 2l, 1955 5MM@ ESM@INVENTOR wlrNEss ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 11, 1936 HT E S TAT S 1 Claim.

This invention relates to directional signals for .use on automobilesand has for an object to provide a signal light in which the turn signalis given both to .the front and to the rear of the automobile.

A further object is to provide a novel form of signal light in which thecharacters indicating corresponding turns intended to be made, aredisposed in separate compartments in the lightandv are selectivelyilluminated by incandescent bulbs controlled by a switch withinconvenient reach of the driver.

A further object is to provide a safety turn light which may be readilyattached to the side of'an'automobile without alterations to or `mutilation of the -front post of the body of the automobile.

A further object is to provide a directional signal llight which will beformed of a few,

simple, strong and durable parts, which will be inexpensive tomanufacture and which will not easily vget out of order.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists ofcertain novel details of construction and combinations of partshereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood .thatvarious lmodifications Vmay be resorted to `within the scope of theappended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any 3ofthe advantages of the invention.

of thisspeciiication,

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a directional signal light constructedin accordance with the invention, in applied position on an automobile.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 ofFigure l.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 ofFigure 2.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of referencedesignate similar parts in the various views, ID designates thecylindrical wall, and II and I2 designate the front and rear walls ofthe signal light casing, these walls 45 all preferably being formed ofopaque material such as metal or the like. The front and rear Walls areprovided with rim anges i3 which .overlap the cylindrical Wall Il! andform means for removably securing the front and rear walls in place. Thecylindrical wall is provided with elongated openings I4 in the form ofarrows preferably and over these openings transparent closures I 5 suchas Celluloid or the like are placed on the inner surface of thecylindrical wall. These openings permit light rays being projectedupwardly or downwardly when corre- In the accompanying drawing formingpart spending signal characters are illuminated as will presently bedescribed, to enhance the visibility of the signal lamp to anapproaching driver or a followingldriver.

The circular front and rear walls lI l and I2 "5 areiprovidedwith'characters It and Il disposed in superposed relationship and formedby cutting away the material of thewalls, the upper character preferablybeing an arrow having its shank directed downwardly `irriidway "of theien'ds 10y to indicate a left turn. The lower character is similarlyv'forrneol by cutting away the material of the walls and is U-shaped inoutline to indicate that/aU -turnis intended Lto be made. Bothcharacters are located in a respective quadrant 15 of the wall on thesame side of the vertical diameter of the wall.

Transparent closures i8 of Celluloid Ior like material are engaged overthe characters and are secured to the inner Vfaces ofgthe front and rearwalls in any preferred manner. 'I'hese closuresprevent access'of dustand foreign matter tothe interior of v:the casing 'but'do lnot interferewith the eiicient projection of light ray through the turn indicatingcharacters.

A transverse partition I9 is disposed in the casing, the ends of thepartition being provided with flanges which ar-e secured to thecylindrical wall of the casing by rivets 20 or other suitableconnectors. The partition divides the casing into an upper compartmentand a lower compartment which .rare entirely separate from each other.The upper compartment houses the characters I6 which indicate left turnson the front and real walls of the casing, and the lower compartmenthouses the characters Il which indicate U turns on the front and rearwalls of the casing. It may thus be seen that when either compartment isilluminated the corresponding turn indicating characters will beilluminated to indicate the intended turn to be made.

A longitudinal partition 2l is secured in each compartment midwaybetween and parallel to the front and rear walls of the casing. Thepartition may be formed of sheet metal and may be secured in position bymeans of a ange 22 which is riveted as shown at 23 or otherwise securedto the partition i9. Each partition 2l is of greater extent than aquadrant of the circular walls of the casing so that when the arcuateedge of the partition is disposed to co- 50 incide with the arcuateinner face of the cylin-v drical wall I 0 of the casing, the end edge2li of the partition is disposed beyond the axis of the cylindricalcasing as best shown in Figure 3.

construction permits of suflicient space being left beyond the edge ofthe partition to permit of an incandescent bulb 25 being so located inthe casing that its rays will illuminate the particular compartment inwhich it is situated. The partition will also be illuminated and form abright background for the transparent signal character associatedtherewith.

The incandescent bulbs 25 are of conventional type and are mounted insockets 26 of the conventional type having bayonet slots 21 whichreceive pins 28 projecting from the bases of the bulbs. A yoke 29 isprovided with arcuate ends 3i] which are secured as shown at 3| to thecylindrical wall of the casing. The yoke is provided with openings whichreceive the sockets 26, and each socket is confined in the correspondingopening by a stop collar 3Q and a nut 3i' bearing against oppositesidesof the yoke.

The conductor wires 32 from the battery 33 are secured to the sockets inthe conventional manner, that is the bared end of each Wire is securedto the corresponding socket by a set screw 34 and a knurled nut housing35 is screwed onto the end of the socket over the set screw as bestshown in Figure 2.

For attaching the signal light to the left post 35 of the automobile apipe 31 is inserted at one end through a suitable opening 38 formed inthe post. Securing plates 39 are mounted on the inner and outer faces ofthe post, these plates being provided with bosses 40 which receive thepipe. Screw bolts 4l are passed through the plates and through suitableopenings 42 formed in the post. A nut 43 is screwed onto the end of thepipe 38 inside the automobile and is turned up tight against the boss onthe inner attaching plate to adjustably secure the pipe in position.

A yoke 44 is secured at the bight to the pipe 31 and preferably aninsulating strip 45 is secured to the inner face of the bight and overthis strip the end of the pipe is flared as shown at 46 to form a stop.A nut 41 is screwed onto the pipe and engages the outer face of thebight of the yoke to tightly secure the yoke to the pipe. The branchesof the yoke are secured to the branches of the socket carrying yoke 29by means of rivets 48. The yoke 44 it will be seen thus houses theknurled nuts 35 but permit backing 01T of the nuts to facilitaterepairsl without dismantling any part of the light.

A switch 49 may be secured to the steering post 5G of the automobile bymeans! of a ring strap bracket 5| having the legs 52 secured in anypreferred manner to an insulating plate 53 which carries two switchcontacts 54 to which the conductor wires 32 are secured and also aswitch contact 55 to which the conductor wire 55 from the battery 33 isconnected in the usual manner. A T-shaped switch 51 is pivoted on theswitch Contact 55 as shown at 53. When the switch is swung in onedirection the lateral branch oil the T-shaped switch will make contactwith one of the switch contacts 54 and when the switch is swung in theother direction the opposite lateral branch will make contact with theopposite switch contact as will be understood.

In operation when the driver throws the switch 51 in one direction thecorresponding incandescent bulb in the casing will be energized and theassociated signal character in both the front and rear walls of thecasing will be illuminated. For example when the switch is swung to theright the left turn characters I6 will be illuminated and when theswitch is swung to the left the U turn characters will beilluminatedjthus indicating to an approaching or following driverrthe.turn that is intended to be made.

From the above description it is thought that the construction andoperation of my invention will be fully understood without furtherexplanation. Y

What is claimed is:

In an automobile signal device, a cylindrical signal casing, front andrear walls for the casing bearing signal indicia, a yoke on thecylindrical wall of the casing outside of the casing, an incandescentbulb socket carried by the cross member of the yoke and extendingthrough the cylindrical wall of the casing, said yoke permitting -accessto the socket, an incandescent bulb within the casing in said socket, asecond yoke having its legs secured to the legs of the rst named yokeand having its cross member parallel with the cross member of the firstnamed yoke, said second named yoke forming a combined housing for thesocket and a support for the casing, and a tubular member forming aconduit for conductor wires connected tothe cross member of the lastnamed yoke.

RICHARD ENO'CH STONE.

